Korean Ground Beef Stir Fry is lean ground beef and crisp vegetables cooked together in one skillet: red bell pepper, broccoli and carrots tossed with the beef in a sweet and savory sauce of brown sugar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger and red pepper flakes. It serves 4, it is ready in 30 minutes, and it goes over a bowl of rice or stands on its own.
How to make it: Whisk the sauce in a small bowl, brown the beef with the onion, add the garlic and vegetables for a quick stir fry, then pour in the sauce and let it reduce for a few minutes while it coats everything.
Why You’ll Love It
- One skillet, 30 minutes: beef, vegetables and sauce all cook in the same pan.
- Budget friendly: a pound of ground beef feeds four once the vegetables go in.
- Sweet, salty and a little spicy: brown sugar and soy with a gentle kick from red pepper flakes.
- Easy to change: swap the vegetables, the meat or the heat level to suit what you have.
Ingredient Notes
Lean ground beef: One pound of 90% lean beef browns without leaving fat to drain.
Vegetables: Red bell pepper, carrots and broccoli. Cut the broccoli into smaller florets and keep the carrots in thin strips so everything cooks in the same short time. Packaged shredded carrots and bagged broccoli florets save chopping.
Garlic: Two tablespoons of minced garlic, about 5 to 6 cloves. Use fresh minced garlic rather than garlic powder; it does not taste the same.
Brown sugar and soy sauce: A third of a cup of each, with reduced-sodium soy sauce. For a gluten-free dish, use tamari or a gluten-free soy sauce.
Toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar: One tablespoon of sesame oil and one and a half tablespoons of rice vinegar round out the sauce.
Ginger: Half a teaspoon of ground ginger, or 2 tablespoons of fresh grated ginger if you have it.
Crushed red pepper flakes: Half a teaspoon to start. Adjust to your taste.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef, 90% lean
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced (about 5 to 6 cloves)
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped (about 1/2 large pepper)
- 1 cup carrots, julienned or shredded (about 1 large carrot)
- 2 cups broccoli florets, cut into smaller florets (about 1 small head)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, or tamari for gluten-free
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, or 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, adjusted to taste
- Green onions, sliced, for garnish
- Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
- Cooked rice, for serving (optional)
How to Make Korean Ground Beef Stir Fry
1. Mix the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and red pepper flakes until well blended. Set aside.
2. Brown the beef. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the ground beef and break it apart, then add the onion. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, crumbling the beef as it cooks, until it is browned. If your beef is less than 90% lean, drain off some of the fat before adding the vegetables.
3. Stir fry the vegetables. Add the garlic, bell pepper, broccoli and carrots and stir fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add the sauce. Pour in the sauce and cook, stirring often, for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce reduces slightly and the beef reaches 160°F on a food thermometer.
5. Taste and serve. Taste and add more soy sauce or red pepper flakes if needed. Take the skillet off the heat, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve on its own or over rice.
How to Season Ground Beef for Korean Beef
The seasoning is the sauce. Korean ground beef is seasoned with a sweetened soy sauce: brown sugar and soy sauce, with rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, ginger and red pepper flakes. The sesame oil gives a nutty flavor, and the brown sugar adds a little sweetness to balance the savory, tangy and spicy parts.
Whisk it before you start. A stir fry moves fast. With the sauce blended in one bowl, you pour once instead of measuring bottles over a hot pan.
Turn up the heat three ways. Add more red pepper flakes to the sauce, stir 1 teaspoon of sriracha into it, or drizzle sriracha over each bowl. For more Korean flavor, whisk 2 teaspoons of gochujang into the sauce. Gochujang is a Korean red pepper paste, a red chili paste, and it packs heat, so use less if you want the dish milder. If you leave it out, the same amount of soy sauce takes its place, though the flavor is less complex.
Fresh ginger instead of ground. Swap the 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger for 2 tablespoons of fresh grated ginger. Another way to use fresh ginger: warm 1 tablespoon of it with the garlic in a little sesame oil for about a minute, until fragrant, before the beef goes in.
Want it sweeter and saucier? Use 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce with 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and let it simmer with the beef for a minute or two.
Taste at the end. Once the sauce has reduced, taste it and add a splash more soy sauce or a pinch more pepper flakes if it needs it.
Tips for Success
How do I keep the vegetables crisp?
Use a large skillet over medium-high to high heat, lay everything out next to the stove before you start, and keep stirring. Cut the pieces small and about the same size so they cook in the same time. Take the pan off the heat as soon as the beef is done: overcooked vegetables turn soggy, and overcooked lean beef turns dry and tough.
Why did my stir fry turn out watery?
Wet vegetables. Fully thaw frozen vegetables and pat them dry, and dry anything you just washed. Cooking on high heat also makes extra liquid evaporate quickly.
Do I need to drain the beef?
Not with 90% lean beef. With fattier beef, drain some fat after browning and before the vegetables go in. Push the beef to one side, tilt the pan so the fat runs to the low side, and soak it up with folded paper towels held with tongs.
Can I double the recipe?
Yes. In a small skillet, cook it in two batches so the pan is not crowded and the beef and vegetables can move around and cook evenly.
Variations
- Other vegetables: sugar snap peas, zucchini, sliced mushrooms, asparagus, bok choy, green beans, cabbage, water chestnuts, baby corn, mung bean sprouts or a handful of spinach. Cut them so they cook in about the same time.
- Vegetables first: stir fry the vegetables until bright and still crunchy, set them aside, cook the beef, then return them with the sauce.
- Sliced beef: sliced beef works in place of ground.
- Other sauces: add oyster sauce, rice wine or hoisin sauce to the sauce bowl.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. An airtight container works well, and the stir fry keeps well for meal prep. Thaw frozen portions in the refrigerator. Reheat covered on the stove or in the microwave until it reaches 165°F; in the microwave, stir or rotate it and check the temperature in several places. Do not reheat it in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Spoon it over white or brown rice, which soaks up the sauce; 2 cups of cooked white rice is enough for the whole skillet. It also works with noodles, cauliflower rice, or spooned into lettuce leaves as wraps. Finish bowls with fried garlic, fried onions, crushed seaweed or cilantro. For the rice, try egg fried rice, and add Korean corn cheese on the side. On other nights, make 15 minute Mongolian ground beef noodles, slow cooker ground beef chow mein, Chinese beef and onion stir fry or garlic chicken stir fry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make stir fry with ground beef?
Yes. Ground beef is budget friendly, it is often already on hand, and it makes a quick meal.
Do I have to marinate the ground beef first?
No. The flavor comes from the sauce that goes into the pan, so the beef needs no marinade.
Is Korean ground beef stir fry spicy?
Only a little. Half a teaspoon of red pepper flakes gives a medium-mild heat. If you add gochujang, the heat depends on how much you use.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes. Whisk the sauce ahead and keep it in the fridge, then whisk it again before it goes in the pan. Cut the garlic, carrots, broccoli and bell pepper and keep them together in one container until you cook.
Can I use a different ground meat?
Yes. Ground chicken, ground turkey or ground pork all work with the same sauce and vegetables. Cook ground pork to 160°F and ground chicken or turkey to 165°F.
Final Notes
Whisk the sauce first, keep the pan hot, and pull it off the heat once the beef reaches 160°F so the vegetables stay crisp. Tell me in the comments which vegetables you used.
Korean Ground Beef Stir Fry
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef 90% lean
- 1/2 cup yellow onion finely diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced, about 5 to 6 cloves
- 1 cup red bell pepper chopped, about 1/2 large pepper
- 1 cup carrots julienned or shredded, about 1 large carrot
- 2 cups broccoli florets cut into smaller florets, about 1 small head
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes medium-mild heat; adjust to taste
- green onions sliced, for garnish
- toasted sesame seeds for garnish
- cooked rice for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and red pepper flakes until well blended. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the ground beef and break it apart, then add the onion. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, crumbling the beef as it cooks, until it is browned. If your beef is less than 90% lean, drain off some of the fat before adding the vegetables.
- Add the garlic, bell pepper, broccoli and carrots and stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the sauce and cook, stirring often, for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce reduces slightly and the beef reaches 160°F on a food thermometer.
- Taste and add more soy sauce or red pepper flakes if needed. Take the skillet off the heat, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve on its own or over rice.
